Girls Soccer Insider: Sycamore converts a bizarre free kick

Danielle Guerra - dguerra@shawmedia
Sycamore's Alyssa Hemmerich tries to control the ball while shielding DeKalb's Sam Myers-Miller during the second half Thursday afternoon at Sycamore High School. The game ended in a 0-0 tie.

This is a major Northern Illinois Big 12 East matchup that might determine the conference title.

NOTEBOOK: Sycamore converts a bizarre free kick

About two weeks ago, Sycamore scored on a bizarre free kick that ended up being the difference in the match.

After scoring two goals against Hononegah, the Spartans earned a free kick from a long distance.

Sycamore’s Alexis Divita lined up to take the free kick. Her shot hit off the top of the cross, off the back of the Hononegah goalie and into the back of the net. Sycamore coach Dave Lichamer described it as freaky.

“When you watch it on film, it is a freaky thing,” Lichamer said. “Hits the crossbar, then hits the goalie, who was jumping up to get it. That is how we got our third goal in that game.”

The Spartans went on to win, 4-3.

G-K ‘D’ making a major impact

Since losing to Indian Creek, 4-2, on April 7, the Cogs have yet to concede more than one goal in a match.

Genoa-Kingston has only conceded three goals in the past five matches.

“Our defense has done pretty well. We have only given up thee goals,” Cogs coach Randy Tate said.

The backline of Allie Pfeiffer, Katie McClusky, Danyelle Crozier and Katey Kurpius has been strong and kept the Cogs in matches. Alyssa Edwards also is on the rise for the G-K backline.

The Cogs will play five matches in two days in the St. Edward Tournament over the weekend. The matches are 40 minutes long. Those matches are a very quick turnaround.

“We played there last year and I thought it was unusual. But I thought it was because of the weather and they cram them in,” Tate said. “When they came back with the schedule this year, I was surprised. It will be interesting.”

G-K’s first matche of the tournament will be against Larkin.

Team issues not a problem

A 9-1 record really stands out when you look at it. For Kaneland, it is playing well and playing together.

“We are just trying to play as well as we can. That is what we are doing so far and we have had some pretty good luck with it,” Knights coach Scott Parillo. “I think we are all pretty happy with it.”

The team works well together. In a match against East Aurora two weeks ago, the Knights won, 8-1. Eight players scored for Kaneland.

Parillo also said everyone is contributing and they all are bonding.

“We are passing well. We are possessing well. We are crashing the net. We are playing defense. It truly is a team effort,” Parillo said. “These are a bunch of girls that are tough and they are playing together well.

“They get along well. There is no fighting between them. There is no nothing, they just come out and are ready to play.”

VIEWS: Separation evident in Northern Illinois Big 12 East

Just by looking at the matches from Monday, there is a clear separation between the top three teams and the bottom three teams on the Northern Illinois Big 12 East. DeKalb and Kaneland dominated matches by the score of 6-0 against Rochelle and Yorkville, respectively. Sycamore won comfortably over Morris, 3-0.

All three teams have not really played each other, excluding Thursday’s match between Kaneland and Sycamore, and the DeKalb-Sycamore tie last week.

These upcoming few weeks will be key for all three teams, as the conference title will be decided.

“It seems like we are beating all of the teams in the conference and it might come down to one of our three teams winning conference,” Kaneland coach Scott Parillo said. “These are tough battles and these are turning into the rivalries in the conference. It’s physical, it’s fast and its fun.”

All three teams have players who play on the same club teams and play against each other at the DeKalb Rec Center in the winter. These are major events for developing players in the area.

“It speaks to the time and commitment that the girls have put in over the last seven, eight, 10 years of their lives,” DeKalb coach Phil Rouse said. “Committed to playing club and committed to playing in the offseason. You see a rise in teams in the area. They are getting better players and getting better records.”

• Travis Zuellig is a sports contributor for the Daily Chronicle. He can be reached at sports@daily-chronicle.com.